Play "Catch-Up"

Sometimes I feel like my days, and my life, are very normal; very uncomplicated. They’re just days, that flow and flow, and the new ones chase the old one away uneventfully.


But most days…most days feel very complicated. Very rushed. Very stressed. And most days are over much too quickly! Where does our time go? Most days I feel like I am constantly playing “catch-up”. Catch up on the laundry, catch up on the house cleaning, catch up on the bills and the “to do” lists that never get done! Catch up on teaching the kids (will London EVER learn to walk?), giving them baths, going through their clothes they’ve outgrown and figuring out what they need more of for the coming season, injecting quality learning experiences into the day, and when did I last cut their fingernails? And the list goes on and on…and on.

When I first brought my newborn baby boy home from the hospital and gazed at him adoringly as a new parent, I never would have seen myself in such a bedraggled overweight and under-rested state as I am now four and a half years later. Someone wisely told me to treasure these years, because they fly by. I didn’t know the rate at which they flew was the speed of light and that they fly whether you fly with them or not! Time stands still for no one…unfortunately not even a mom!

The years certainly have flown by at an alarming speed. When I look back, I can’t believe that I met the man of my dreams, got married, adopted a crazy hyper dog and already have 2 kids! It literally seems like yesterday that I first said a laughing hello to my husband as he bowed before me saying “I’m not worthy!” (No, that’s another story!). Now it is 7 years later, we’ve been married for six and a half years, and, WOW! Where did the time go? How does that happen? One second you’re single and only responsible for yourself, and you think you want so much more and then you blink and BAM! You’re a stressed out mess that’s responsible for 3 other people AND yourself, and you never completely have time for any of them and your time is now your own worst enemy.

Some moments, when the house is a complete mess, the checking account hasn’t been balanced in a week, the kids are arguing with each other, the dog is leaving muddy paw prints on my floors, and I’m trying to fix lunch, clean off the table, referee the kids’ argument, corral the dog and talk on the phone to Daddy all at the same time AND I haven’t showered for three days, I have to honestly ask myself – Is this what you expected?

Honestly, the answer is no. But who ever expects their life to turn out the way it does? The more important question is, Am I happy with my life? Yes. I love my husband, I love my kids (and yes, I love the dog too, on occasion!). We’re not destitute, we’re not seriously ill, we’re not lacking in anything. And yet, somehow, we’re not satisfied either?

Why can’t we just stop our crazy whirlwind of activity, and enjoy the simpler things in life? If we have less, well, then there would probably be less to “catch up” on. Less TV shows I just had to watch, less bills to pay (can I get a woot-woot?!), less phone calls to make, less places to go.

The other night, me and my husband and kiddos turned on some funky music and danced around the living room, laughing and being silly, and just stopping for a minute in the craziness of life to spend time together. It was pure bliss. I want more days, and more times, just like that one. Why am I not satisfied? Well, maybe it’s because I want a less complicated life. No more catching up on this and that. Just doing the things that need done and enjoying the moments as the come. If we have a free minute, why must we shove something else in it to get done? Why can’t it just be a free moment? I want my free moments. But in order to get them, I know I must first get rid of the things that cost me those moments of playing catch-up. So the real question is, is the sacrifice worth it? Oh my, yes! Because time flies by, and you have to make the time to be on board when it does! Make the first class payment (sacrifice) and catch up with the flight of your life, and then stay on board!